Melas of Dharamshala and Kangra 2026-27: Dari Dhummu Shah Mela, Chhinj Wrestling, Dussehra and More

Short answer: The biggest mela (fair) in Dharamshala is the Dhummu Shah mela at the Dari Mela Ground (दाड़ी मेला / धुम्मूशाह मेला), held every April: 8 to 15 April in 2025, and from around 8 April in 2026. Its highlight is the chhinj, a traditional wrestling contest where the top men's bout in 2026 carried a Rs 1 lakh prize and women wrestlers competed for Rs 75,000. The next mela in town is the district Dussehra mela at the Police Ground, 18 to 24 October 2026, with Ravan Dahan on 20 October. The 2027 Dari dates are not announced yet; expect early-to-mid April and check the Kangra district website in March.

This guide covers the fairs (melas): rides, stalls, wrestling and temple rituals. For every festival through the year, including Tibetan ones, see our festivals and events calendar.

Mela Calendar 2026-27 at a Glance

"Confirmed" means the date or pattern is in official or news sources we have checked. "Check" means the fair happens but we have not confirmed the 2026-27 dates.

When Is the Dari Mela?

The Dhummu Shah mela is held every April at the Dari Mela Ground (दाड़ी मैदान) in Dharamshala.

• 2025: 8 to 15 April. Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa opened it with the flag ritual (jhanda rasm) and a puja at the Bharari Mata temple.
• 2026: it began around 8 April. The main wrestling days were 9, 10 and 11 April.
• 2027: not announced. We have not found how the date is fixed each year, so we will not guess. It has been early-to-mid April in recent years. Check the Kangra district website from March, or ask us.

So, Dharamshala mela kab lagta hai? The big one, at Dari, is in April. The next one is the Dussehra mela at the Police Ground in October.

The mela is run by a management committee headed by the Dharamshala SDM. In 2025 it had swings and rides for children, two cultural evenings with local artists, CCTV cameras and drinking water points.

Who Was Dhummu Shah?

The fair is named after a man, not a god, and the story behind it is about money.

According to The Tribune, the mela began in Dhummu Shah's time. He was a moneylender, and after the harvest the farmers and shepherds of the area would gather to settle their dues with him. Where people gather with fresh harvest money, traders follow. They set up stalls, the yearly settling of accounts turned into a market, and the market grew into a fair that has outlived the man and his ledgers.

Nobody seems to know the founding year. The Deputy Commissioner has called it an ancient fair, and the opening ritual at the Bharari Mata temple keeps a religious thread running through what began as a very practical gathering.

What Is a Chhinj?

Chhinj is the local name for the wrestling contest held at Kangra fairs. Two wrestlers grapple in a ring of soft earth or sand, a dangal, with the crowd packed in all around, sitting on slopes, standing on walls and cheering every throw. Bouts are announced one after another, and the biggest are saved for last.

At Dari, the chhinj is the heart of the mela. In 2026 the wrestling ran over three days, with the bouts graded from the small to the big to the special purse (9, 10 and 11 April). The prizes, as reported by Amar Ujala:

National-level wrestlers also put on exhibition bouts. In 2024 wrestlers came from Himachal, Punjab and Haryana, and in 2025 Kangra district ran a registration for junior wrestlers (choti kushti).

The women's purse is worth noticing. The Kangra district administration notes that women wrestlers now take part in chhinj at district fairs, with cash prizes, so a contest that was long all-male now has a women's main bout worth Rs 75,000 at Dari.

What Is a Mela Like?

A Himachali mela mixes a temple ritual, a market and a funfair. You will usually find:

• Jhoole (swings) and rides for children, from small hand-pushed swings to giant wheels.
• Rows of stalls selling clothes, household goods, toys and bangles, plus food stalls.
• Cultural evenings with local singers and folk dancers, often including the nati, the Himachali circle dance.
• A ritual opening at a local temple, often with a flag ceremony.
• Wrestling, at the bigger fairs.

The honest picture at Dari today. Local news has been frank that the mela has become more commercial. In 2025 the ground was auctioned for Rs 1.31 crore, and local traders said outside traders dominated (The Tribune). In 2026 a dome was put up in the middle of the ground for the first time, stalls cost up to Rs 60,000, the early days were quiet, crowds came in the evening, and shops lined the road from the Dadi ITI bridge to Sheela Chowk (Amar Ujala). Cloth stalls dominated, there were few toy stalls, and one swing ride went from Rs 30 to Rs 100.

So go on the wrestling days and in the evening, when the mela comes alive, and treat the market as a bonus.

The same ground, other seasons. The Dari ground is Dharamshala's big public space. It hosts a Ramlila that has run for 18 years and is on right now in October 2026 (see our Ramlila in Dharamshala guide), and it hosted the Himachal Tourism Spring Carnival from 25 to 29 February 2024.

Which Melas Can I See Near Dharamshala This Season?

Right now (October 2026):

• Dussehra mela, Police Ground, Dharamshala: 18 to 24 October 2026. Rides, stalls and fireworks, with the Ravan Dahan (burning of the Ravan effigy) on 20 October. Full details in our Dharamshala Dussehra guide.
• Ramlila at the Dari ground, running nightly this month.

Winter and spring 2027: the Makar Sankranti fair at the Brajeshwari temple in Kangra town lasts seven days (combine it with our Kangra Devi temples guide). State-level fairs in Kangra district include Lohri at Pragpur, Shivratri at Baijnath, Holi at Palampur and Baisakhi at Dehra (Kaleshwar), with district fairs such as Shivratri at Kathgarh (Indora) and Baisakhi at Jwali. Kangra district lists these but publishes no dates, so check locally. Then, in April, the Dhummu Shah mela at Dari.

Monsoon 2027: the Nagni Mata fair near Bhadwar, about 9 km from Nurpur town, is a district-level fair held on every Saturday of the Hindu months of Shravan and Bhadon, roughly late July to September. In 2025 it opened with a shobha yatra and the Deputy Commissioner. Folk belief holds that the spring at the temple has healing powers. It is a long day trip from Dharamshala, so book a taxi.

The Gaddi mela, McLeod Ganj: the Gaddi shepherd community holds an annual mela in McLeod Ganj, described as more than 200 years old. It usually comes after the Manimahesh yatra and ends with kushti on the final day; in 2014 it was held on 4 September. We have not confirmed present-day dates. Read more in our Gaddi shepherds guide.

Further afield: the Minjar fair in Chamba, across the Dhauladhar in Chamba district, is one of the best known fairs in Himachal, with processions and narsingha horns.

Smaller village fairs and Navratri melas happen across the valley through the year. If you organise one, tell us and we will add it.

Tips for Visiting a Mela

• Go in the evening. Melas come alive later in the day, when families arrive and the lights come on. Daytime can be quiet.
• Pick a wrestling day at Dari. Ask locally which days have the big bouts; in 2026 they were 9, 10 and 11 April.
• Carry cash in small notes for rides, snacks and stalls.
• Find a spot early for the chhinj. The crowd around the ring fills up fast, and the best bouts come at the end.
• Watch your belongings and your children in the evening crowd, and agree a meeting point.
• Be respectful at the temple ritual: remove shoes where asked and ask before photographing people.
• Avoid driving to the ground at peak hours. Roads around Dari and the Police Ground jam in the evening. A taxi drop-off is easier.
• Try the food stalls, and for the dishes to look for at a Himachali feast, see our Himachali food guide.

Where to Stay for a Mela

Both the Dari ground and the Police Ground are in lower Dharamshala, so a stay in lower Dharamshala keeps you close to the melas and away from the steep drive up to McLeod Ganj after dark. If you would rather stay in McLeod Ganj or Dharamkot for the views and cafés, plan a taxi down and back for the evening. Compare places by area and budget in our Dharamshala hotels finder.

For more checked facts about the area, see our Dharamshala facts page.